SoccerAmerica - The buzz has faded 08/16/2010

[TELEVISION WATCH] How fast has the soccer buzz faded since the end of the World Cup? The USA-Brazil game on ESPN2 drew 783,000 viewers, only a quarter of the average television audience for 2010 World Cup games on the ESPN networks. And only a fraction of last Tuesday's top draws, a pair of cooking shows ...

By comparison, the previous broadcast of a USA game, the round-of-16 World Cup match against Ghana, drew 14.9 million viewers on ABC and Univision.

The USA-Brazil audience was still about three times the average number of viewers for MLS games on ESPN2.

The best MLS audience of the season was the ESPN2 broadcast of the AT&T All-Star Game with Manchester United, which drew 714,000 viewers.

What was the USA-Brazil game up against?

The big draws on Tuesday's television lineup were cooking shows like Fox's "Hell's Kitchen," which drew 7.2 million viewers for its season finale, and "MasterChef," which topped 6 million viewers. Even "Chopped" on the Food Network drew 2 million viewers.

Then there were reality shows such as "The Rachel Zoe Project," "Gene Simmons' Family Jewels," "Growing Up Twisted," "Flipping Out" and "The Colony."

Never heard of any of them? Well, each outdrew the audience for the USA-Brazil game.

0 comments

John Pepple

commented on: August 17, 2010 at 11:17 a.m.

There are still plenty of people in this country who refuse to have anything to do with soccer, and they tend to run the media and our schools. Take, for example, the Beloit College Mindset List, which was just released. This is an annual list telling college professors what the world of the incoming class is like. Never has this list mentioned anything about soccer. For example, this year they could have said, "America has always been in the World Cup," because for young Americans, that seems to be a true statement. But they just refuse to touch soccer, while at the same time thinking of themselves as multiculturalists. This is why I have called the multicultural movement a farce.

Kevin Nellis

commented on: August 17, 2010 at 1:11 p.m.

This has nothing to do with post World Cup buzz and everything to do with ESPN/ABC not promoting the event at all. I drive all day and listen to ESPN radio. Not a single commercial or mention of the match the entire week leading up to it. No commercials on TV that I can recall either. ESPN knows how to increase ratings, they just don't care now that the World Cup is over.

Chris Wirth

commented on: August 17, 2010 at 2:39 p.m.

I want soccer to become popular in the USA as much as anyone, but I don't think it's worth stressing out every time this happens. So much has to change in the mindset of the American public for something like a USA-Brazil friendly to register, that it's just not reasonable to expect big changes in anything less than a generation. Sure more promotion by the media would change things quicker, but we don't want people feeling like it is being forced on them, which some people complained of during the World Cup. We've only recently (this year?) reached the point where it doesn't sound entirely self-evident if somebody says "Americans hate soccer".

David Huff

commented on: August 17, 2010 at 5:18 p.m.

I love soccer/football/futbol but I was also one of those who did not watch because I am philosophically opposed to the USSF's lameduck approach in continuing to use Bob Bradley, I will not watch anymore USMNT games until MLS Bob is gone.

Dirk Sanders

commented on: August 17, 2010 at 7:38 p.m.

David I am with you, lose RoboBob, and get us Klinsmann! Sign the petition if you agree, and let your voice be heard! http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/ klinsmannasussoccercoach/

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